PEMBROKE — Bryan County boys basketball coach David Elmore attributed his team’s 0-4 start this season mostly to inexperience and erratic decision making on the court. Unfortunately, not much changed for the Redskins on Friday night, as Bacon County used a pair of monumental first half runs and red-hot shooting from the floor, cruising to a 90-65 win.

The Red Raiders had nine players score and five reach double figures, with Jackson Foster (18 points) and Devonta O’Neal (17) leading the way. And they drilled nine 3-pointers to turn the game into a rout by the middle of the second quarter.

“We came out flat; that’s the best way to put it,” Elmore said, “and (Bacon) took advantage of that. They outworked us in several areas, and we were playing catch-up all night. We’ve got to learn to match that intensity and pick up our effort before we expect to win.”

After getting two quick baskets from Jeremy McClendon and Troy Robertson to start the game, the Redskins (0-5) went cold and saw the Red Raiders (3-2) go on a 9-0 run to take the lead for good. Robertson completed a 3-point play to cut the deficit to 9-7, but O’Neal followed with a 3-pointer and two more buckets to push Bacon’s advantage up to 9 points.

Bryan County’s Kajana Dixon got the Redskins back within 6, scoring 7 unanswered points to make it 28-22 with just under six minutes left in the first half. But the Raiders put the nail in the coffin, exploding on a 24-4 run to effectively put the game out of reach. Foster led the onslaught, pouring in a trio of 3-pointers from the far corner to give Bacon a 52-26 halftime edge.

The Redskins had more success offensively in the second half, but were never able to knock Bacon’s lead back under 20. McClendon led all scorers with 21 points, while Dixon chipped in with 20.

“We’re playing a lot of sophomores and freshmen, and so far we’ve had a lot of turnovers because of immaturity and immature decision making,” Elmore said. “We’ve got a lot of growing to do and have got to start cutting down on the turnovers, or we’re going to have a hard time staying in games.”

Earlier Friday, the Bryan County girls suffered a similar fate, as they weren’t able to establish a consistent offensive attack in a 57-28 loss to Bacon County.

Kendra Smith led the Lady Red Raiders with 23 points on the night, while Ashton Kight had 10. Brianna Smith was Bryan’s top scorer with 11 points. It was a tight game for most of the first quarter, but a 17-6 run by Bacon led to a 29-12 halftime lead, which continued to grow after the break.

The Lady Redskins (0-5) were without their top offensive threat in Diamond McGirt, who sat out with an injury she sustained last Friday against Southeast Bulloch. Bryan County is trying to reach the postseason for a fourth consecutive season under coach Mario Mincey, but is still trying to replace the offensive firepower it lost from graduated players Satashala Beasley and Tiffany Howard. Both had 1,000-point careers for the Lady Redskins.